


A Grace Period

by jackalshepherd



Category: Legend of Zelda (, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Mild Hurt/Comfort, They're all in there in some way it's just focused on Legend and Wild, Wild creates bootleg tiger balm TM
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:40:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24941710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackalshepherd/pseuds/jackalshepherd
Summary: I wanted to play around with some fan ideas that Legend has arthritis, getting chronic body aches and pains due to being on so many adventures. Lots of repetitive motions and equipment use can lead to it. They stumble into Legend's house, and have an opportunity to rest, and find healing before they continue. The Links never get enough sleep, no health insurance, and Legend gets reminded that it's okay to rely on others and accept their help.
Relationships: Legend & Wild (Linked Universe)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 181





	1. Chapter 1

They’re not sure what time it is when the coast is clear, but they can feel the slip of the early morning dew on the grass as they walk, signaling it's very early morning, but the sun hasn’t started turning the sky from black to blue yet. The species of trees change and the forest becomes different around them, the pink haired veteran leading the other heroes to his home on auto pilot, the back of his brain recognizing his homeland. 

They all follow each other half asleep in a line, like ducklings trying to keep sight of each other. The small blacksmith in the group trips over a root in the wild grass, not helping that they reach up to his waist, while Twilight shoulder checks a tree because he fell asleep while walking, veering off slightly to the side. It’s been over twenty four hours since the group has slept, constantly moving due to a rude awakening at camp the morning before by an ambush, followed by a chase after the band of moblins, only to lose track of them with no clue as to who came out on top. Every attempt at rest was met with a call to defend their resting spot, and then moving again to find safer ground in case more heard the blow horn of one of the moblins. 

Legend’s feet take his body up the incline of grass, his knees complaining due to the damp weather, past the bird shaped weather vane, and he nearly face plants into his front door before he realizes- _“Oh, wait, this is my house.”_ -and unlocks his way in, figuring he’ll do a headcount of everybody once they’re inside. Or until after he sleeps, whichever happens first. All he knows is that his legs are cramping, his shoulders and arms are on fire, and if he doesn’t sleep somewhere warm, _right now,_ his fingers will fall off. The door shuts and is bolted locked, no one’s straggling behind, so everyone gets the all clear to find their bedroll, the comfiest spot on the floor, _without touching anything this time,_ and go unconscious until the ache in their bones stop creaking. They shed their armor and heavy layers like they’re cursed and prepare to fully appreciate the privacy of four walls and a roof. 

The heroes sleep, and don’t have to move for several hours. 

It’s mid-morning when the majority of them wake up, Hyrule reaching from his blanket, poking Wild’s slate screen to wake it up, leading him to share to the room that the time is after ten in the morning. That gets a groan from Twilight, stretching like a cat while rubbing his shoulder, and from Time, sitting up in his bedroll, a half mumbled, _“time isn’t real,”_ stretching his arms and back, and each time a pop sounds his face winces like it hurts. 

Four accompanies Wild to the raised patch of land out front, finding a space for his cooking wok to feed nine people. Warriors follows them out, only half awake but the thought of food is rousing him by the minute.* Twilight, up from his bedroll, nudges Time in the knee, who is still reclined against the wall where he slept, earning a one eyed glare.

“I’m awake, pup, just resting my eyes.”  
“You’re kind of blocking my bag though..”  
“Damn, that’s unfortunate....” Time makes no motion to move and keeps his eyes shut. The goatherd heaves a sigh and leaves to check on the others. 

He walks over to see Hyrule, pointlessly shaking Sky’s shoulder, before finally rousing the resident sleepyhead, only to get him just conscious enough to turn over, throw his sailcloth over his head, and sending the two away with a groan saying he’s “so tired his _teeth_ hurt.” **That line of logic tells them to leave both Sky, and Wind, adjacent to him, to their sleep. The Traveler looks to Twilight, whispering how Wind and Sky can sleep so soundly. They leave it to the shrugged answer of one’s experience of stormy seas and the other’s ability to sleep anywhere like it’s a cloud, and they go to check on their host. 

The two find Legend, lying face up, back straight on his bed, but on top of the covers, hinting that he recently moved from the floor to there in the time they were sleeping.  
Hyrule clears the path around the bed of chainmail and pegasus boots to prevent tripping, and Twilight catches the pinched look on the veterans face: eyebrows down turned, jaw tight like he’s clenching his teeth, his eyes are closed but he proves he’s awake, with a greeting softly hissed through clenched teeth.  
“Everything hurts...hurts to move...is it raining outside…? My shoulders and knees are killing me…”  


Time, over by his spot but more alive than before, looks over at the trio and raises his water canteen in body ache solidarity.  


Legend remembers ignoring the pain flares and aches during their non-stop travel the past couple days. What was at first a minor soreness, dull aches, and a charley horse in the calf, is now a burning pain up along his spine, sharp needles in his knees and elbows, and his shoulders feeling like he tried to bench press Epona. His hands and fingers are sore, and he bends and stretches them for relief, but has little instances of his knuckles locking.  


Twilight rubs Legend’s shoulder, giving a quick thumb press as he does so, leaving him to rest but offering to see if their Cook can maybe alter a quick pain elixir for him after breakfast. Legend waves them out with a promise to be up and in working order when breakfast is ready, and Hyrule and Twilight step out the door, squinting at the bright sun.

They’ve checked on the sleeping members of their family, now to find the others... and more specifically to hunger and body aches, find the Cook.


	2. Chapter 2

There’s a small flat grassland outside Legend’s house, with the grassy anticline they walked up from the night before ramping down from the front of the house. The plot of land is only decorated with a bird shaped weather vane, with some bushes, thankfully spared from the small cooking fire a few paces away. 

Wild has a small cooking wok heating, Warriors handing him eggs and rice portions from the Sheikah Slate, looking through the photos and adding commentary in between pauses. Four is physically awake, eyebrows and ears twitching as he follows conversation, but he’s currently reclined with his head in the captain’s lap, the Slate being held by the captain shielding his face from the morning sun, and his body resting in the grass, forming a tripping hazard as Hyrule and Twilight complete the half circle around the pot. It’s a calm half hour of cooking, the smell of campfire and food reviving the remaining stragglers from the house. 

Time comes first, taking a few moments to hold the warm bowl in his aching hands, joining the haphazard circle as he listens to the others debate on…. _how many cuccos it would take to defeat a Lynel? What?_ He looks at Four, getting a tired nod, and stares at his food in wonder of how long they’d been discussing this. They’ve gotten passionate, and Wild is starting to draw equations in the air to support his arguments, Hyrule and the others adding their own input as they eat. 

Sky and Wind exit the house next, the sailor sending worried glances back at the house as they walk near. Sky squats down, fixing his hair, tangled as it’s gotten longer, but he’s ready to stand back up at a moment's notice, when he waves his hand in the middle of the group to get attention. Twilight’s the first to notice, especially with the absence of Legend, wondering if he’s still working up to get out of bed. Catching Twilight’s concerned look, Sky speaks.  
“We checked with the veteran before we came out, he said he’d be right up, but I’m not so sure, he looked stiff.”  
Twilight moves to stand up, setting his empty bowl off to the side, joining Sky as he reassures and waves the others to sit back down. No need to crowd the man.  
“He said his joints were stiff and that his knees hurt when I woke up earlier. Usually he’s one of the first ones up and active, but let’s see what we can do for him.” Twilight explains this to Sky as they walk back towards the house, none the wiser to their long haired cook, tilting his head and ear to listen and catch the cause for his now soon-to-be new project. 

The two find their friend, now sitting up in bed, his legs over the side, still in the aftermath of a nap interrupted by another charley horse in his calf, massaging his leg. He looks up, cracking half a smile as he snarks,  
“We’ve _got_ to stop running into each other like this. This makes it the second time now?”  
“Hey, at least you’re in human form this time.” Sky banters back, still holding an arsenal of rabbit jokes. Twilight offers a hand, smiling when Legend accepts the boost up, getting his arm swung over Twilight’s shoulder as he straightens his posture, letting out a small laugh at Sky’s cringe when he manages to crack his back and shoulders.  
The three walk out, Twilight letting out one last comment of, _“alright Old Man, let’s get these damn kids off your lawn,”_ earning a soft smack to the shoulder, but any worry they had is gone as they rejoin for breakfast, Legend completing their gathering around the cooking fire. 

It’s after Warriors and Wild are finished with dishes, and everyone finds their lounging activity as they take a day to rest and recover, that things slowly get nudged into motion. Wild finds Legend leaned against the weather vane, stretching his arms and legs. 

“Hey, you alright? You looked like how I felt when I first woke up in that shrine.”  
“I’m alright, just sore after all the panic these past couple days. Those all nighters running and fighting didn’t help either.”  
Wild crosses his arms as he gets a mental list together. “How do you usually cope with it? Do you use anything cold, or thermal?” _Cold for inflammation...but heat for stiffness….Hm._  
Legend looks a little off to the side, “Ah...well...I don’t, really? I mean if it’s bad enough I’ll take a red potion any day, but usually resting and stretching for the most part-” He looks back at the cook, more forward this time, “-and I’ve been fine this far, just a rarity for it to linger this long. I’m fine in no time.”

Later, in the afternoon, Warriors and Four convince Legend to give them a short tour, mainly to show them to a witch’s brewing hut they’ve heard about so much. Time, Sky, and Wind are lounging and exploring in the house, - with Legend’s permission and repeated rule of _please, don’t touch anything_ \- and Wild, Twilight, and Hyrule are left to their own devices. 

Wild’s got a smaller pot out now, the fire more tame, rising slowly, double checking his quick notes and ingredients in his slate, unable to stop himself from mumbling his thoughts out loud as he works. He decides to try a warm solution first, scrolling through and setting out his warm safflina. He pulls out hyrule herb as well, and he wonders how the remedial effects will change the mixture.  
Twilight has the instinct for perfect timing, as he walks by the cooking pot, only to see Wild pulling his next choice out. He stops short.  
“Is...is that a _red lizalfos tail?_ ” Wild doesn’t seem to hear him, off in his thoughts. He still lets some mumbles slip out,  
“ _Maybe I could use red chuchu jelly, to make it spreadable?....Maybe honey to help with the scent…or would that cancel out....?_ ” Wild pulls out the mentioned ingredients, tossing them into the pot, no care for measuring. He never seems to measure when he cooks, but holds no hesitation for how it will turn out.  
He throws in portions after mashing them with a pestle, a conglomerate of hyrule herb, warm safflina, red chuchu jelly, and, as the ranch hand feared, tail of a red lizalfos. Grabbing his jar of honey to add, he finally notices Twilight, who’s been watching with interest, and moving to sit beside him.  
“What exactly are you making? No one pissed you off that bad, did they?”  
Wild starts to stir everything together, adding more wood for heat, as he smirks at the question.  
“Don’t worry. This isn’t for food. I’m trying to make something that has healing and warmth effects. I have to be careful not to cancel anything out, though. The real question is if it’ll work, and how long it will last.”  
“Anything I can do to help?” Twilight’s less apprehensive now that they won’t have to eat lizards, and settles for looking through the array of ingredients that are set out next to the fire. He pokes at leftover chu jelly, as he looks over and sees the screen on Wild’s Sheikah slate, showing the compendium of benefits for different materials.  
Wild’s ear twitches at the question, and again when he sees his mentor investigating in his periphery; the curiosity (nosiness) of being a Link shining through. “Keep it a secret from the veteran, maybe. This is a gift, and he can be too stubborn for his own good sometimes.” Wild glances at the other, before focusing back to his work, “Here, hold this for a minute.”  
The cook hands Twilight the open jar of courser bee honey, but making no other move other than to go back to watching the pot. At his friend’s confused look, Wild explains, “you can hang on to that for today, I’ve got more if I need it.” With the implied permission granted, Twilight takes an out when he sees it, strolling off to find some of the others, sampling the free treat as he walks. 

Eventually, Wild has the first sample together, homogenous into one, warm healing balm, the chuchu acting as a thickening agent rather than a liquid. He takes a small bit, spreads it on his wrist, and waits.  
No more than two minutes pass on his slate, before he feels a comfortably warm feeling wake from the area he applied. It’s warm enough that it calms the sharp ache in his wrist from heavy cooking and archery use, but not overwhelming to the point of burning. Perfect. He portions the medicine into small bottles, easy to travel with, and wipes his cooking tools to put away. 

Of course, as his life seems to work, as soon as he finds a solution, a new problem shows its fangs.  
And of course, Legend’s problem is prevalent now due to their stressful week, but it certainly isn’t _new_. It was probably part of his experience before, meaning it will unfortunately be bothering him even _after_ their quest together is over…  
And _of course,_ palming his face, Wild realizes that after, there needs to be a way Legend can find relief for his pain. If this medicine turns out to work, then it’s fine, because Wild will be there with his ingredients to make more. However, there’s no telling if Legend or even _Ravio_ will have those same ingredients, with the same benefits in this Hyrule. 

Inhaling slowly in and out through his nose, he sets his tools back on the ground, and stalks off to find his mentor and the traveler. If they’re going to nose around his things, they’ll have to forage for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wild's learned philosophy from the kids at Hateno: Someone bothering you in the kitchen while you're trying to cook? Give them a small sample as a snack, they'll leave you be. Who knew Twilight had a sweet tooth.
> 
> Let me know if I should fix anything format wise. This chapter might not be the best, so next one will be up soon to make up for it. Thanks for reading :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, thank you for reading this! The first chapter's a bit short, I'll get the other chapters tossed up soon this weekend, so hopefully it's okay. This is my first LU fic, I literally had to do a mental headcount several times to keep track of all nine of them, I don't know how Jojo and all you writers do it. Let me know if there's something format or grammar wise that I didn't catch. Thanks again for reading :)
> 
> * "...food is rousing him by the minute." There's always at least one person in a friend group that's hungry immediately after waking up. Warriors seems like that kind of guy; very active lifestyle, needing to keep up protein and nutrient intake. 
> 
> **"...so tired his teeth hurt" IDK if it's just me but if I'm exhausted and drained enough, I'll even feel the tired ache in my jaws and teeth, it's weird. Figure I'd throw it in there as a weird half-asleep thing to say.


End file.
